WEBVTT 00:00:05.929 --> 00:00:08.689 Kia ora, and welcome to the St. Francis Church 00:00:08.689 --> 00:00:11.490 Sermon Podcast. We're so glad that you've joined 00:00:11.490 --> 00:00:14.789 us. Our prayer is that as you listen, you would 00:00:14.789 --> 00:00:17.690 encounter God's presence, be refreshed in your 00:00:17.690 --> 00:00:20.429 faith, and equipped for everyday life with Jesus. 00:00:21.109 --> 00:00:24.129 As a church, we are learning to faithfully follow 00:00:24.129 --> 00:00:27.739 Jesus by practicing His way at His pace. For 00:00:27.739 --> 00:00:30.760 more info about who we are and what God is doing 00:00:30.760 --> 00:00:36.500 among us, head to stfrancis .co .nz. Grace and 00:00:36.500 --> 00:01:02.020 peace. Help us lift above what life is. Even 00:01:02.020 --> 00:01:07.159 for Pentecost, we could do that. But then that's 00:01:07.159 --> 00:01:10.879 only manufacturing it for one day. The Holy Spirit 00:01:10.879 --> 00:01:15.200 is in us. When you came here, when you leave 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:18.739 here tomorrow, every other day, we don't have 00:01:18.739 --> 00:01:21.799 to make one day thing. We just come here to celebrate 00:01:21.799 --> 00:01:28.760 of when the Spirit came upon all people. It's 00:01:28.760 --> 00:01:31.840 a birthday, and we celebrate a birthday today, 00:01:31.980 --> 00:01:35.019 a remembrance. Not a remembrance from just the 00:01:35.019 --> 00:01:38.019 past, but a remembrance for right now and for 00:01:38.019 --> 00:01:44.540 the future. So we heard that reading, that account 00:01:44.540 --> 00:01:47.459 from Acts, and I want to start with what I think 00:01:47.459 --> 00:01:50.379 is one of the most, for me, I've picked out as 00:01:50.379 --> 00:01:54.840 overlooked detail in this whole story. The door. 00:01:57.519 --> 00:02:01.980 Before Pentecost, the disciples were behind a 00:02:01.980 --> 00:02:05.640 locked door. After Pentecost, they're in the 00:02:05.640 --> 00:02:10.300 streets. 3 ,000 people came to faith in that 00:02:10.300 --> 00:02:16.539 single day when Jerusalem was hosting the Feast 00:02:16.539 --> 00:02:18.620 of Tabernacles or the booths where hundreds of 00:02:18.620 --> 00:02:21.300 thousands of people were coming from all around 00:02:21.300 --> 00:02:25.719 the place to celebrate. The most explosive movement 00:02:25.719 --> 00:02:30.800 in human history kicks off in Jerusalem and within 00:02:30.800 --> 00:02:32.840 a generation is spread across the entire known 00:02:32.840 --> 00:02:37.699 world. Same people, same city, completely different 00:02:37.699 --> 00:02:41.620 posture for them. What changed? It's just one 00:02:41.620 --> 00:02:45.280 thing. They got filled. They were poured into 00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:49.680 by the Holy Spirit. So let's go back to the beginning 00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:56.729 of Acts 2. We're in that room, okay? Not as many 00:02:56.729 --> 00:02:59.689 of them, but 120 followers of Jesus gathered 00:02:59.689 --> 00:03:02.430 together waiting, just like he told them to. 00:03:02.870 --> 00:03:06.169 And then out of nowhere, or you could say out 00:03:06.169 --> 00:03:09.949 of everywhere, wind, fire, languages, nobody 00:03:09.949 --> 00:03:12.689 studied, the whole place goes off, and outside 00:03:12.689 --> 00:03:17.250 the city stops. Pilgrims have been gathering 00:03:17.250 --> 00:03:21.580 over... from over 15 different regions, all hear 00:03:21.580 --> 00:03:24.319 their own language being spoken by a bunch of 00:03:24.319 --> 00:03:28.939 Galileans who had no business knowing it. Some 00:03:28.939 --> 00:03:32.699 people were completely amazed. Some think, well, 00:03:32.759 --> 00:03:35.080 we're watching a bunch of guys who've had too 00:03:35.080 --> 00:03:39.740 much to drink. And here's the moment I want you 00:03:39.740 --> 00:03:47.099 to take notice of. Peter. Peter stands up. Now, 00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:50.259 it's good to understand, Who Peter was seven 00:03:50.259 --> 00:03:56.120 weeks before this. This is a guy who with a servant 00:03:56.120 --> 00:03:59.120 girl pointed at him and said, you're with Jesus. 00:04:00.319 --> 00:04:03.520 He looked her in the eye and said, I don't know 00:04:03.520 --> 00:04:07.199 what you're talking about. And he did that not 00:04:07.199 --> 00:04:10.419 just once, he did that three times. He was so 00:04:10.419 --> 00:04:15.319 scared he couldn't even own his own name. That 00:04:15.319 --> 00:04:19.720 same Peter, well he stands up, in front of thousands 00:04:19.720 --> 00:04:22.459 of people, and he opens his mouth on this day. 00:04:24.459 --> 00:04:27.600 Now that's not a personal development. That's 00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:30.720 not a confidence workshop that he's been through. 00:04:31.180 --> 00:04:34.019 That is what happens when the Holy Spirit fills 00:04:34.019 --> 00:04:38.920 a human being. What does he say? Well, he goes 00:04:38.920 --> 00:04:42.300 straight to the prophet Joel. 800 years old. 00:04:44.139 --> 00:04:47.240 800 years old, this prophecy. And Peter says, 00:04:47.800 --> 00:04:52.620 This is it. What you're seeing right now, this 00:04:52.620 --> 00:04:59.220 is it. Joel saw it coming 800 years ago, and 00:04:59.220 --> 00:05:02.360 you're now experiencing it. Listen to what Joel 00:05:02.360 --> 00:05:06.040 wrote. In the last days, God says, I'll pour 00:05:06.040 --> 00:05:09.920 out my spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters 00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:12.459 will prophesize. Your young men will see visions. 00:05:12.560 --> 00:05:15.379 Your old men, old guys in here, we're going to 00:05:15.379 --> 00:05:18.480 include every old person. Okay, we're not sexist 00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:23.259 here. Your man will dream dreams. All people, 00:05:23.339 --> 00:05:29.680 sons and daughters, young and old. God didn't 00:05:29.680 --> 00:05:32.800 set up a hierarchy for this. He didn't say it's 00:05:32.800 --> 00:05:35.720 just for the priest. He didn't say that the spirit 00:05:35.720 --> 00:05:38.939 goes to the senior leaders of churches and first 00:05:38.939 --> 00:05:42.540 and then filters down to everyone else. He said 00:05:42.540 --> 00:05:47.879 all people. He said he would pour this out. He 00:05:47.879 --> 00:05:49.740 wasn't going to ration it. He wasn't going to 00:05:49.740 --> 00:05:53.160 drip it to you. But he says he's going to pour 00:05:53.160 --> 00:05:58.639 out his spirit upon all people. And here's a 00:05:58.639 --> 00:06:00.480 bit that should stop us in our tracks today. 00:06:00.939 --> 00:06:04.319 Pull us up to re -look at it and see it for what 00:06:04.319 --> 00:06:10.980 it is. Peter says this is that. The last days. 00:06:11.199 --> 00:06:14.839 They started at Pentecost. What Joel said was 00:06:14.839 --> 00:06:17.980 coming, which means we are living in them right 00:06:17.980 --> 00:06:22.839 now, you and I. This is not just words in Scripture 00:06:22.839 --> 00:06:25.680 and a Bible that we may open and read. This is 00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:27.959 now the age of the Spirit isn't something coming. 00:06:28.439 --> 00:06:33.040 It's already here, which means everything that 00:06:33.040 --> 00:06:36.399 happened in Acts 2 is available to us today. 00:06:38.459 --> 00:06:41.699 I'm sure we've all got doors that we want to 00:06:41.699 --> 00:06:45.449 keep shut. I know I've shared this with you. 00:06:45.529 --> 00:06:48.670 This is a big door for me. Many, many years ago 00:06:48.670 --> 00:06:51.589 when the Lord knocked on me and said, Tony, I 00:06:51.589 --> 00:06:53.589 want you to leave my church. So I opened a little 00:06:53.589 --> 00:06:55.490 bit and I saw what that was, so I slammed it 00:06:55.490 --> 00:06:59.870 shut. I'm not going there. I'm going to stay 00:06:59.870 --> 00:07:02.750 in this comfortable space. I'm going to stay 00:07:02.750 --> 00:07:06.870 what I know who I am. You can't get me to do 00:07:06.870 --> 00:07:10.750 that. We often forget who we're talking to when 00:07:10.750 --> 00:07:19.100 we say that, isn't it? The creator. So I opened 00:07:19.100 --> 00:07:20.579 the door and the Lord took it off its hinges. 00:07:21.259 --> 00:07:25.860 And every day I need to rely on that spirit that 00:07:25.860 --> 00:07:31.500 is in me. So I want you this morning to consider 00:07:31.500 --> 00:07:37.079 this question. Does your life look like someone 00:07:37.079 --> 00:07:39.300 who's been filled with the same spirit? that 00:07:39.300 --> 00:07:44.579 turned a locked room into a world movement? Does 00:07:44.579 --> 00:07:46.459 your life look like someone who's been filled 00:07:46.459 --> 00:07:48.819 with the same spirit that turned a locked room 00:07:48.819 --> 00:07:53.579 into a world movement? Because in reality, I 00:07:53.579 --> 00:07:58.100 think a lot of us, and I include myself here, 00:07:58.420 --> 00:08:01.699 we've quietly settled for a version of following 00:08:01.699 --> 00:08:07.899 Jesus that's just a bit too safe. It's wrapped 00:08:07.899 --> 00:08:10.899 up on a Sunday. And be here for an hour and a 00:08:10.899 --> 00:08:16.420 half and then do it all again next week. Or a 00:08:16.420 --> 00:08:22.360 version that's a bit too manageable. I can move 00:08:22.360 --> 00:08:25.079 you around to fit into my schedule, my calendar, 00:08:25.199 --> 00:08:27.899 or a bit too much like the locked room before 00:08:27.899 --> 00:08:30.360 Pentecost rather than the streets that are after 00:08:30.360 --> 00:08:37.080 it. We believe the right things. We show up, 00:08:37.100 --> 00:08:43.379 we're good people, but bold? Dangerously, inconveniently, 00:08:43.379 --> 00:08:46.379 people noticing something different about you 00:08:46.379 --> 00:08:50.659 bold? Think of when you just walk down the street, 00:08:50.779 --> 00:08:53.940 do people take notice of you? Do they sense a 00:08:53.940 --> 00:08:58.039 presence even without you saying stuff? That's 00:08:58.039 --> 00:09:00.899 a different thing, that boldness that the Spirit 00:09:00.899 --> 00:09:04.379 gives us. But here's what I want you to hear. 00:09:05.639 --> 00:09:10.480 And it's for whatever age we're at. You know, 00:09:10.480 --> 00:09:15.019 if you're young and too inexperienced or too 00:09:15.019 --> 00:09:17.399 unqualified for the Spirit to use you, Joel said 00:09:17.399 --> 00:09:21.960 sons and daughters will prophesy. God is not 00:09:21.960 --> 00:09:26.200 waiting for the young ones to have life figured 00:09:26.200 --> 00:09:29.320 out before he moves through you. He wants to 00:09:29.320 --> 00:09:32.460 move through all of us now. In the middle of 00:09:32.460 --> 00:09:37.070 the mess and the figuring out. We pray as older 00:09:37.070 --> 00:09:39.809 people for the younger generation to come up, 00:09:39.830 --> 00:09:42.370 but when that happens, we start to live in our 00:09:42.370 --> 00:09:45.769 comfortable ways. No, you can't have that. That's 00:09:45.769 --> 00:09:52.570 disrupting us. The spirit is not like that. See, 00:09:52.629 --> 00:09:54.669 your generation is not the future when you pray 00:09:54.669 --> 00:09:57.950 for the young people, for the church. You are 00:09:57.950 --> 00:10:01.909 the church right now. And if you've been following 00:10:01.909 --> 00:10:06.879 Jesus for decades, you know. Joel said, you old 00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:09.960 ones will dream dreams. God is not done with 00:10:09.960 --> 00:10:15.299 you. Your best days of fruitfulness are not behind 00:10:15.299 --> 00:10:20.379 you because the Holy Spirit's in you. It never 00:10:20.379 --> 00:10:24.919 ages. The Spirit is not nostalgic. He doesn't 00:10:24.919 --> 00:10:26.639 just show up for the young and the energetic. 00:10:27.279 --> 00:10:30.700 He shows up for anyone who is still saying, yes, 00:10:30.840 --> 00:10:35.559 I'm available. Use me. You see, some of the most 00:10:35.559 --> 00:10:38.600 powerful moves of God in history come through 00:10:38.600 --> 00:10:41.139 people who've been walking with him long enough 00:10:41.139 --> 00:10:47.279 to know exactly who they were trusting. Whoever 00:10:47.279 --> 00:10:51.860 you are, the invitation is the same. Be filled. 00:10:52.639 --> 00:10:57.980 Stay filled. And then walk out the door. Because 00:10:57.980 --> 00:10:59.919 here's the thing about bold disciples. They're 00:10:59.919 --> 00:11:03.690 not bold because they're fearless. Peter was 00:11:03.690 --> 00:11:07.610 terrified seven weeks before this day. The disciples 00:11:07.610 --> 00:11:12.330 were hiding behind a locked door. These are not 00:11:12.330 --> 00:11:15.970 naturally courageous people. They're ordinary 00:11:15.970 --> 00:11:19.490 people who get filled with an extraordinary God. 00:11:21.769 --> 00:11:25.250 And that's the pattern that you see right through 00:11:25.250 --> 00:11:29.509 the whole book of Acts. Ordinary people who are 00:11:29.509 --> 00:11:32.759 empowered. By the Spirit doing things that had 00:11:32.759 --> 00:11:37.139 no natural explanation. And the world turning 00:11:37.139 --> 00:11:41.759 upside down as a result of it. And that pattern 00:11:41.759 --> 00:11:45.860 was never meant to stop with them. Your lives 00:11:45.860 --> 00:11:52.379 are in those pages as well. So what does that 00:11:52.379 --> 00:11:56.379 actually look like for you this week? And not 00:11:56.379 --> 00:11:58.779 just this week whenever you hear me say things 00:11:58.779 --> 00:12:03.059 like that. It's every week. Where are you going 00:12:03.059 --> 00:12:05.200 to be bold? Maybe it's a conversation you've 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:06.919 been putting off with a friend or a colleague 00:12:06.919 --> 00:12:14.340 or a family member. Maybe it's having that moment 00:12:14.340 --> 00:12:17.159 when it's right to tell them what Jesus means 00:12:17.159 --> 00:12:21.519 to you. You've been waiting maybe for that perfect 00:12:21.519 --> 00:12:24.139 moment to tell and share with them the perfect 00:12:24.139 --> 00:12:31.139 words. Stop waiting. The Spirit goes with you. 00:12:32.039 --> 00:12:35.879 Because the Spirit is in you. Maybe it's saying 00:12:35.879 --> 00:12:37.600 yes to something that you've been quietly saying 00:12:37.600 --> 00:12:42.279 no to. Could be serving, leading, stepping up 00:12:42.279 --> 00:12:44.200 because you don't feel qualified enough either 00:12:44.200 --> 00:12:47.480 in the life of the church or anywhere else. You 00:12:47.480 --> 00:12:49.840 weren't supposed to feel qualified. You were 00:12:49.840 --> 00:12:53.899 supposed to be filled. To be able to do what 00:12:53.899 --> 00:12:59.360 the Lord calls you to do. Or maybe it's just 00:12:59.360 --> 00:13:02.429 waking up tomorrow. And deciding that today you're 00:13:02.429 --> 00:13:04.730 going to live like the spirit of the living God 00:13:04.730 --> 00:13:10.409 actually lives inside you. How would you go about 00:13:10.409 --> 00:13:16.090 your day? Because he does. That's not a metaphor. 00:13:16.470 --> 00:13:21.610 That's the deal that Christ has given us. I died 00:13:21.610 --> 00:13:24.370 on the cross for you so the spirit could be in 00:13:24.370 --> 00:13:30.840 you. Peter ends his message with this line, and 00:13:30.840 --> 00:13:33.940 it's beautiful, I think, in its simplicity. Everyone 00:13:33.940 --> 00:13:36.460 who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 00:13:39.700 --> 00:13:42.320 Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will 00:13:42.320 --> 00:13:47.220 be saved. Everyone, the bold and the timid, the 00:13:47.220 --> 00:13:49.860 sorted and the messy, the ones who have been 00:13:49.860 --> 00:13:53.059 following Jesus forever and the ones that are 00:13:53.059 --> 00:13:57.029 just starting out. For everyone who calls on 00:13:57.029 --> 00:14:08.830 his name. The Spirit is not exclusive. The Holy 00:14:08.830 --> 00:14:12.210 Spirit is extravagant and lavish on our lives. 00:14:12.850 --> 00:14:17.169 But he does ask one thing of us. Don't stay in 00:14:17.169 --> 00:14:20.929 the locked room. I tell you, the longer you stay 00:14:20.929 --> 00:14:24.250 in there, the worse it becomes for you. Because 00:14:24.250 --> 00:14:26.610 you're not doing what God's called you to do. 00:14:28.450 --> 00:14:31.309 And I was thinking of what title could I give 00:14:31.309 --> 00:14:33.590 to this to help me think through this. It was, 00:14:33.629 --> 00:14:40.529 you know, you were not made to hide. You were 00:14:40.529 --> 00:14:44.710 made to be filled and sent. The wind has blown, 00:14:44.830 --> 00:14:47.649 the fire has fallen. The only question is for 00:14:47.649 --> 00:14:51.049 each one of us in this room is what are you going 00:14:51.049 --> 00:15:00.690 to do with it? And this is how I'd like us to 00:15:00.690 --> 00:15:07.669 respond today in this space. You've seen, and 00:15:07.669 --> 00:15:09.789 in the newsletter and things, the different stations 00:15:09.789 --> 00:15:11.889 that are here that have been part of the 24 -7 00:15:11.889 --> 00:15:14.070 prayer that are links to every church in this 00:15:14.070 --> 00:15:16.750 nation and every church around the world has 00:15:16.750 --> 00:15:23.350 been praying 24 -7 since Ascension Day. People 00:15:23.350 --> 00:15:25.110 have been in this place during the week and out 00:15:25.110 --> 00:15:27.769 at Hillcrest Chapel. Some of you have been in 00:15:27.769 --> 00:15:30.940 this place. Praying, seeking and waiting on God. 00:15:31.740 --> 00:15:34.039 And something has been happening in all of that. 00:15:34.600 --> 00:15:40.000 In the unseen as well. In a moment I want to 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:46.000 invite all of us to move to these stations. Not 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:49.759 to perform anything. Not to have a religious 00:15:49.759 --> 00:15:54.320 experience on demand. Just to come as you are. 00:15:55.080 --> 00:15:58.340 Before God and say, I want to live. differently. 00:15:59.480 --> 00:16:03.360 I want to be filled. I don't want to stay in 00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:06.580 the locked room anymore. Whatever that locked 00:16:06.580 --> 00:16:10.259 room is in your life. Maybe you want to pray 00:16:10.259 --> 00:16:14.120 for boldness for the first time. Maybe you want 00:16:14.120 --> 00:16:17.480 to recommit after a season of playing it safe, 00:16:17.639 --> 00:16:21.440 keeping it manageable. Or maybe you just want 00:16:21.440 --> 00:16:24.360 to sit in the choir and let God meet you where 00:16:24.360 --> 00:16:29.679 you actually are. The stations are there for 00:16:29.679 --> 00:16:33.980 all of that because the Spirit is here. Because 00:16:33.980 --> 00:16:38.940 when you take it, Pentecost isn't a day that 00:16:38.940 --> 00:16:41.919 we look back at. It's a reality that we actually 00:16:41.919 --> 00:16:47.379 step into. The door is open and the Spirit is 00:16:47.379 --> 00:16:53.080 here. And the place we begin before we go anywhere 00:16:53.080 --> 00:16:58.059 is right here at this table. Or both of these 00:16:58.059 --> 00:17:02.019 tables here. Because the reason the Spirit could 00:17:02.019 --> 00:17:04.859 be poured out on all people is because Jesus 00:17:04.859 --> 00:17:07.619 was first poured out for all people on the cross. 00:17:08.480 --> 00:17:14.900 His body broken. His blood shed. You can't have 00:17:14.900 --> 00:17:20.000 Pentecost without the cross. So before you and 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:23.559 I go into our week as people filled with the 00:17:23.559 --> 00:17:26.759 Spirit, we come to this table. as people who 00:17:26.759 --> 00:17:31.779 remember the cost. And we come thirsty. We come 00:17:31.779 --> 00:17:42.579 as we are, honest. We come to Christ. So to help 00:17:42.579 --> 00:17:46.200 you move, I'm going to give you some brief instructions. 00:17:47.140 --> 00:17:49.440 And the Spirit will move you wherever you need 00:17:49.440 --> 00:17:55.809 to go from there. I've already blessed the bread 00:17:55.809 --> 00:18:00.109 this morning and the wine. You can come for communion 00:18:00.109 --> 00:18:02.369 straight up and then disperse to the stations 00:18:02.369 --> 00:18:04.490 or you can go to the stations and come back. 00:18:04.549 --> 00:18:07.509 I'll just stay here to administer communion. 00:18:07.890 --> 00:18:11.250 Or you can do it here as you pray for families, 00:18:11.289 --> 00:18:15.029 friends or neighbours. Or if you go to there 00:18:15.029 --> 00:18:17.569 where you pray for our nation and the city of 00:18:17.569 --> 00:18:21.990 Hamilton, for the churches in this area. where 00:18:21.990 --> 00:18:24.029 you can go into the chapel room, prayer room, 00:18:24.190 --> 00:18:29.150 for being abiding in Christ. Move around. Or 00:18:29.150 --> 00:18:31.349 for the persecuted church, that's down here. 00:18:31.430 --> 00:18:34.569 Grab a chair, move them. Don't just, if there's 00:18:34.569 --> 00:18:38.750 two chairs, that's all you can do. The lectern 00:18:38.750 --> 00:18:41.009 in the back, there's some of these booklets which 00:18:41.009 --> 00:18:43.210 have got all the stations in it. So you can grab 00:18:43.210 --> 00:18:48.069 one, or they're on the walls as well. So Lord, 00:18:48.109 --> 00:18:52.710 as we come praying, in your presence, hearing 00:18:52.710 --> 00:18:56.349 from you, praying for those as you intercede 00:18:56.349 --> 00:18:59.990 for us, we come interceding and praying for those 00:18:59.990 --> 00:19:06.289 in these stations. Come Holy Spirit, move us 00:19:06.289 --> 00:19:10.230 as we are in your presence. Amen.